Smith To Have Tommy John Surgery

Carson Smith will undergo UCL reconstruction surgery (Tommy John) after receiving a second opinion on his injured pitching arm. Smith pitched just three times for the Sox in 2016.

The right handed pitcher was recently told that he would likely need surgery before getting the second opinion. He will have the procedure done in New York by Dr. David Altchek in the next few days. Smith went just 2.2 innings pitched in 2016 for Boston after starting the season on the DL with a forearm strain. He threw 70 innings in 2015 with a 2.31 ERA before being traded this past winter in a deal that sent Wade Miley to Seattle.

Smith will have just over two years of service time at the end of this season and the Red Sox could have over three years of control over the reliever. Boston still has Craig Kimbrel, Junichi Tazawa, Matt Barnes, and Koji Uehara in the bullpen as end of the game arms.